Jeremy Lin returns to the Houston Rockets, who waived him before the start of the 2011-12 season.

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The New York Knicks elected not to match the three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet the point guard received from Houston, Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said in an e-mail Tuesday at about 10:30 p.m. ET. Reports of the Knicks' decision were public before the Rockets learned New York did not match the offer, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke to USA TODAY Sports and requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Lin was expected to fly to Houston on Wednesday to begin the process of getting his physical and being cleared to sign with the club.

"Extremely excited and honored to be a Houston Rocket again!!" Lin tweeted Tuesday night. "Much love and thankfulness to the Knicks and New York for your support this past year…easily the best year of my life."

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander added Tuesday in a news release, "We are thrilled to have Jeremy back as part of the Rockets family. … Jeremy is a winner on and off the court and we view him as an important part of our plan to build a championship contender."

Jeff Van Gundy thinks Lin will thrive. The ESPN analyst has a unique perspective after coaching both the Knicks and Rockets and calling Lin's 38-point outburst on Feb. 10 against the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden. Yet he still bristles at the notion that this latest craze surpasses the furor that surrounded center Yao Ming, a native of China, in Houston beginning in 2002.

Not even close, he said.

"It's a totally different story," said Van Gundy, who arrived in Yao's second season. "I think this was as much about being Asian American, it was about being waived, (sent to the Development League), (attending) Harvard, and then it was about winning. And, to throw it on top, as important as all of that was, he's doing it in New York."

Of course, Lin tried in Houston last year. He played in two preseason games for the Rockets before being cut as the team was loaded at point guard.

But don't get too hung up on New York, Van Gundy said, pointing to Yao's immense popularity while in Houston. Lin's tale would be unique anywhere, he said, but it only gains traction with results.

"It was a terrific story driven by his great play, but also by the Knicks winning," Van Gundy said. "I think it would have played in Houston as well. But would it have been covered as breathlessly as it was?

"No, probably not. But it still would have been a heck of a story."

But as David Carter, executive director of USC Sports Business Institute, points out, Houston is not New York.

"Now he's in a smaller market," Carter said. "There might be less attention focused on him. From a popularity standpoint, even though the league is global, they certainly would have loved to have him in a major market like New York."

Still, Houston is the fourth-largest city in the country. Plus, between 5-6% of its more than five million residents are Asian.

"People are just excited about him," said Linda Toyota, president of the Houston Asian Chamber of Commerce. "You have to have change happen. Any time one person is different and joins a group, it changes the whole dynamic. And that's the spirit of Houston; the people make the difference."

David Schwab, who specializes in matching brands with celebrities as managing director at Octagon First Call, said that while Lin is an American success story, he'll reopen marketing in-roads for Houston during Yao's eight seasons.

"Teams base their decisions on wins and losses, because wins and losses ultimately affect ticket sales, sponsorships," Schwab said. "I still think it's a win-loss decision, but I think, in their case, it's weighed more as a marketing decision. They've got more to gain right now, with a decade of Yao and companies they've done business with. They've got kind of the next frontier there."

Lin's celebrity would seem to be a welcome addition to a city seemingly void of star athlete power.

"Houston is such an international city, a melting pot, that for a number of reasons, he'd be well-received," said Jeff Nalley CEO of Houston-based agency Select Sports. "Well, initially. He'd have to continue to create the magic that made 'Linsanity' possible in the first place.

"But he has everything the city is looking for."

The NBA's television partners hope so. ESPN won't release its broadcast schedule until next week, but spokesman Ben Cafardo said his network is monitoring the situation.

"ESPN works in lockstep with the NBA to present the most compelling games, storylines, rivalries and stars to our fans throughout the season," Cafardo said in an e-mail. "Jeremy Lin was one of the captivating stories in the NBA last season and he could certainly add to the excitement of the 2012-13 season."

For the 2011-12 season, the NBA on ABC drew a 4.0 rating in Houston, which ranked 19th out of 56 local markets. The NBA on ESPN captured a 1.2 rating, which was 32nd out of 56.

Those figures are why, in part, the perception of a reduced stage persists.

"There are still going to be some major opportunities for sponsors and Lin to be able to take advantage of a sizable market, both domestically and abroad," Carter said. "For many, the fact that he's merely in the NBA and on the national, if not international, stage is going to be all they're looking for.

"At the same time, though, they're going to potentially pay less because of his migration. It might cost less to be one of his business partners."

Maybe, but Lin still has to perform. After all, Yao was either second- or third-team All-NBA five times during his eight NBA seasons. In 35 games a year ago, including 25 starts, Lin averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds.

Lin scored nine points with six assists and three rebounds in 20 minutes for the Knicks in a 97-84 loss to Houston on Jan. 28 — a week before his breakout 25-point game against the then-New Jersey Nets led New York to the start of a seven-game winning streak. It was the Knicks' only game against Houston in the lockout-shortened season.

"No matter if he stays in New York or leaves for Houston," he said, "the only thing that continues to drive the story is he plays well and they win."

Contributing: wire reports

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